Compared to any other medical specialty, orthopaedic surgeons perform a greater variety of procedures. However, they barely receive one third of what is billed. Insurance companies continue to slash the amount they pay out to doctors and hospital; due to all these reasons orthopaedic practices are facing tremendous pressure to stay afloat amidst rising costs.
No time to ensure increasing demand of documentation and billing accuracy-
Under Obamacare, orthopaedic practices have been facing various billing and coding perplexities-
- Process of reimbursement collection and denial appeal has become cumbersome due to constant changes being introduced in codes
- In order to handle the billing complexities, practices are being forced to spend more money on hiring or training existing staff to
ensure accuracy in claim submission
- Rules surrounding multiple procedures make orthopaedic billing more difficult compared to other specialities
- With time, orthopaedic procedures have become highly expensive due to which, even a small percentage of underpayment leads to high revenue losses
- Fee schedules are getting reduced every year and with changes in CPT codes and modifiers, providers are facing increased difficulties
- Orthopaedic practices are being compelled to invest in latest technology and software in order to carry out operational and billing functions with ease
- Payers observe and value the wide range of procedures differently, causing complexities in orthopaedic billing services
Staffing issues-
Shortage of well-trained staff is another challenge faced by small orthopaedic practices. After spending on expensive equipment and bearing other operational costs, providers are left with less or no money to hire staff or conduct training sessions to prepare them for ICD-10 or other billing requirements.
Various prospects may have opened up for orthopaedic practices under Obamacare but this government has also given various reasons to remain cautious and prepare for difficulties that come with increased number of patients.
To avoid more payment cuts due to billing and coding errors, many practices are outsourcing their billing requirements to a billing partner. A reputed billing partner can play a vital role in collecting payment, appealing denied claims, tracking and solving underpayment issues with accuracy, advising physicians to enhance patient billing and front-end interaction and various other tasks.
Medicalbillersandcoders.com the largest consortium of billers and coders has been helping orthopaedic practices sail through payment cuts and rising costs. The team at MBC is well-trained in handling the revenue cycle management of practices along with tasks related to coding, claim filing, charge posting, denial management, A/R follow-up, reporting and other administrative tasks.
Our team is constantly updated with evolving technology systems and medical billing regulations related to orthopaedics. While an expert team handles your revenue cycle management, you can concentrate on handling the complexities of patient care.